My d❤️D has to work today. So I get to pick up the boy at 8:30. We will stop for donuts at the amazing donut store and bring them home to share with dh. After we eat the donuts we will set up the LEGO electric train under the tree and create a village for it out of other legos. Whenever we get tired of the train, we’ll bake and make candy. At some point, we’ll eat lunch. We might cut some cedar branches and make Christmas decorations.

at 2:00 I have to return him to his mom. This evening he’s going to the children’s theatre with his actual cousins and the aunt who fostered his mom’s little sister.

everything is still a mess, but we are working very hard to create order, routine, confidence and joy when we have him.

depending on how the day goes, I might try to get him to play a math game with us and help him beat dh. Because he loves games and he is now about half a grade level behind in math and reporting to us using strategies in class that help him avoid notice but do not help him learn math. Or we’ll just double and halve the recipes.... he loves to cook.